The Hot Sands of China?

History comes full circle: Marco Polo went to China in 1271. Today a Las Vegas resort simulates the canals of his hometown Venice. And in 2007 Las Vegas Sands Corp. will have Venetian gondoliers in China.

A 10.5 million-square-foot expansion opening next year will dwarf the company's existing Sands Macao, which opened last year in the old Portuguese colony now ruled by China. The $2 billion master-planned Cotai Strip will include convention facilities, hotels with 10,000 guest rooms, eight theaters with 20,000 live-entertainment seats and 850,000 square feet of retail space. By April, Sands had signed retailers for 115 of its 350 spots. Some stores at “canal level” where shoppers can get a good look at the gondolas will pay up to $400 per square foot in rent.

Las Vegas Sands sees Macao as the world's top emerging gaming market. Three billion people live within five hours by air. In a release, president and COO William Weidner modestly predicts that Macao can “become the gaming and leisure destination of choice for a significant part of the world's population.”